Entries with the tag: rod gilbert

Things certainly started right last night at Madison Square Garden when the New York Rangers raised Adam Graves’s No.9 to the rafters. It was a night filled with Ranger stars such as Mark Messier, Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Rod Gilbert, Eddie Giacomin, Mike Gartner, as well as guys like Glenn Healy, Sergei Nemchinov, Tie Domi, Darren Langdon and Jeff Beukeboom, all there to give praise to one of their greatest mates, Adam Graves.

It was unfortunate that the current Ranger squad had to play afterwards because they put on a dismal performance against the lowly Atlanta Thrashers and lost 2-1 in a shootout. Yes, the team peppered Thrashers’ netminder Kari Lehtonen. Yes, Nikolai Zherdev played a tremendous game by generating many scoring chances. The team also got a good look at Artem Anisimov, who played well but needs more playing time to be effective. And yes, the team got a solid performance, with the exception of the shootout, from their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

However, it still wasn’t enough to be the second worst team in the NHL while also being a game in which they could have gained some ground on the New Jersey Devils as they lost to the Washington Capitals 5-2 last night.

As I am sure most of you are aware of by now, the New York Rangers will honor Adam Graves by retiring his No. 9 to the Garden rafters. Compared to the other Blueshirt retirees (Rod Gilbert, Eddie Giacomin, Mike Richter, Mark Messier and Brian Leetch), Graves did not produce as much statistically (280 goals, 227 assists, and 507 points in 772 games) but he certainly bled red, white and blue like no other Blueshirt for 10 seasons.

On the ice, Graves was a hard-nosed player who drove to the net to put in rebounds, deflect shots, create havoc for opposing netminders and generate many scoring opportunities. In 1993-94, Graves became one the league’s premier left wingers when he notched 52 goals, braking previous record-holder Vic Hadfield’s 50 goals. Five seasons later, he actually fired in 38 goals, proving that even though he was getting older, he could still play hard, do all the little things right and produce. He may not have been a Gilbert, Messier or Leetch but nevertheless, he did what he had to do to be an impact player.

“Gravey” was also a tough player. He stood up for his teammates, protected his linemates and when something needed to get done, he led by example. In a piece on the team’s web site, Messier called Graves the ultimate lieutenant. He also persevered through many obstacles and was able to capture the league’s King Clancy Trophy (1994) and Bill Masterton Trophy (2001).